UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR ACCESSIBILITY
LIVELY LIVING
Lively living is a digital assistant application that aims to assist users with Parkinson’s disease as well as users with difficulty with motor function, whilst making use of a wearable device companion. It aims to ease a user’s difficulty with memory and loneliness problems through facilitating tasks as well as providing companionship.
THE DESIGN CHALLENGE
The challenge was to create a mobile or tablet application that integrated wearable device compatibility in order to assist a user with either a permanent or temporary disability through their daily pain points & providing a digital solution with the ultimate goal of allowing the user to be more independent in their daily life. In addition to this, the task was to either design according to the IOS or Android design systems & to follow the appropriate design guidelines. This project responded to the design challenge whereby the design thinking process was followed to create a high fidelity proof of concept named; Lively Living
DESIGN FRAME & SOLUTION
Problem: The sense of dependency on others and equipment that persons with an amputation and Parkinson’s Disease experience and to give them a greater sense of independence in their daily lives
Design Frame: How might we give the user back their independence and encourage pro-health based behaviour?
Solution: This was done by returning to the source of what independence was, doing daily activities how the user wants to and having it organised how the user would like it. The application aims to support that by helping the user have a platform to organise and be mindful of their plans, as well as supporting their own discovery through a community aspect by introducing the Circle of Support screen that aims to further their passions and aim to create more relationships & give them back a sense of purpose & meaning in their daily lives.
DESIGN PROCESS
RESEARCH PHASE:
The process began in the form of a group research presentation on a specific impairment which included: Stroke or heart attack, Pregnant or newborn, Dementia or Parkinson's or Alzheimer's & finally a missing limb or appendage.
The research informed the creation of a persona, their pain points, daily life, their impairment & technology that may alleviate the persona's pain points. This persona allowed the focus to be accurately informed with regards to the problem frame & the direction of the Planning phase.
PLANNING PHASE:
In order to better understand the stylistic treatment, a moodboard was created & after this was completed and understood, a Features & Functions document was compiled in order to better outline the components that will be integrated as well as to understand & curate the most important elements.
Following this, Journey maps were created in order to understand how the user will be making use of certain features & functions and to include additional if needed or to remove unnecessary features. Completing this allowed for the development of wireframes that integrated the preferred stylistic treatment as well as begin visualising the intended solution.
EXECUTION PHASE:
Commencing the Execution Phase, a Style Tile document was created; which is a visual design document that represents the overall look & feel of the User Interface (UI). In addition to this a Guidelines & Adherence document was created in order to encapsulate the accessibility design principles & to showcase how the intended solution complies with these principles.
Subsequently, the Visual Interface Designs as well as a system prototype were developed in order to express the design solution, with all the above being included in a final Case Study.
LEARNINGS
The Project demonstrated what it was to design for a specific interface as well as the depths of what is it really is to make a system accessible and how to design simply, efficiently and quickly.
NEXT STEPS
For future projects the intended system and its relevant design principles & guidelines will be always taken into consideration with the prototyping also following this. In addition constant questioning and research implementation will be done throughout the design process with regards to making the intended design solution universally accessible.
Thank you so much for coming along with me on this project, if you like what you have seen or have any suggestions get in touch with me via e-mail at:
byjulien.nieman@gmail.com
or check out some illustration work on Instagram at:
@notthelemur
